Aiden Pearce in the Polar Vortex
by Where'n'why
Summary: (COMPLETED April 10, 2015) When the Polar Vortex descends on Chicago, the Vigilante is reminded of what's important to him.
1. Hunkering Down

Aiden was used to cold. He was born in North Ireland; he lived most of his life in the windy city. Most of his fondest memories were formed at times when he could see his breath. His first kiss, his first time, his first everything was in cold weather. He did a lot of bad things in the freeze for the first time, too. The first time he shot someone, it was snowing. The first time he stole a car, he was shivering. He didn't like the cold, but he didn't complain about it, either. Now, here he was, sitting in a car, all these years later.

He was done. He'd avenged Lena's death. Lucky Quinn was dead. His family was safe in St. Louis. Crime was almost at zero. Now there was nothing to do.

He was just sitting there, with his arms crossed on the wheel and his head buried in those arms. The radio was on, playing some commercial about a sports drink, or some unnecessary thing. The music was about to start again, when a weather bulletin started.

"This is WKZ. The National Weather Service has issued a wind chill warning for Chicago starting at ten, tomorrow morning. An area high pressure is expected to move down from Canada, bringing with it sunny skies and frigid temperatures. The high for is tomorrow, thirty, with temperature dropping throughout the day. Thursday, we're expecting a high of only six, with a low temp of three below. Friday, high minus twelve with wind chills into the negative thirties. We expect those sorts of gelid temperatures well into next week. Thursday, at least. Now we go back to your music."

Aiden, by the end of the forecast, had made up his mind. The fox was going to stay in his den. He needed food, not the junk he usually ate, but real food. He lifted his head off the steering wheel, and put the car in drive. It was only ten o'clock, so he decided to go to the supermarket immediately. He couldn't remember the last time he went to a supermarket. He picked up what he thought was most necessary: a loaf of bread, a gallon of milk, a dozen eggs, a pound of bacon, two packs of bottled water, several packs of batteries of all sizes, a few frozen pizzas, and a book of crossword puzzles. He approached the register the only register open. The cashier, a little old lady, smiled at him.

"Has anyone told you that you are the spitting image of the vigilante?"

"I get that a lot, miss."

"I like him, but he dresses real weird. Don't ya think?" she inquired, as she scanned the groceries.

"I guess, he dresses in those trench coats to look cool," he said quite amused with this old lady. "What're you doing here by yourself at night?"

"Well, honey," she started, "I own this store, and with my friend, Sig, protecting me here and in the back."

"Sig?" he asked with a smirk.

"Mr. Sig Sauer, of course," she said patting side. She had scanned the last item. "That'll be $45 on the nose, sir."

Mr. Pearce pulled out three twenties, and let her keep the change. He went back to his car to go back to the bunker.

The bunker. He hated the bunker now. It was warm, but that's all it was. He started to put away his groceries as he pondered what the bunker meant. When Clara was killed, it felt empty, dead. Soon after, T-Bone left to live his life wherever. It was just him. Hell, even some fixers to kill, would fill the void. He wished that boredom was the only problem. He was alone. He was lonely. He wanted to be with someone. No intimacy, just company. The presence of another body, another soul was all he yearned for. He wanted to talk to someone. He couldn't; he alienated himself. He alienated those he loved with his… his life. That's why his sister left.

He promised himself that he wouldn't contact Nicky. He wanted her, the both of them, safe. No matter what he told himself, he still blamed himself. His life was dangerous, and he knew it. After that day, his life was filled with 'what ifs'. He knew hypotheticals would not change anything. Lena is dead. It was his fault, period. Clara is dead. It was his fault, period. He thought that he had let himself grieve. He thought the feeling of bereavement was over. This polar vortex only showed what had happened to him. His heart had grown cold over the years. He didn't realize it, but that's what happened. He stopped caring about people. Sure, he was the vigilante, but that was selfish. He only did that to quiet his conscience.

That worked… for a while.

Now he felt guilty about all the cops he killed. They were just doing what they were paid to do. He felt guilty about all the fixers he killed. Granted, they weren't good people. They killed people, but they had no clue what they were getting into when signed up for it. He felt bad about the citizens struck by debris from explosions or stray bullets. He always wired some money to the grieving family, but he knew no amount of money was enough to solve loss. He sent $250,000 to the Lilles. Of course, Badboy17 was not an ordinary citizen, but Aiden was completely at fault.

Now he was alone. There was no one there for him. He knew he forsook them all first. Suddenly, Aiden's phone rang. He didn't notice it, at first. RING. Now, his ears perked up. RING. The phone showed a number that was unrecognized.

"Hello, who's this," he asked bewildered.

"Aiden, it's me."

"Nicky, I'm so glad to hear your voice, but I thought we agreed not to contact each other. It has to be important, it's twelve o'clock," he said with the tone of cconcwrn lacing his words.

"No, it's just that, I heard, about that Arctic air moving down into the Windy City. We're supposed to get it down here too. So, don't freeze to death trying to save everyone, okay. We love you, and we want you to be safe."

"Tell Jacks… tell him… I love him," his voice was a little wobbly.

"Okay, I will. I love you too, big brother. Be safe," she said.

"I love you, too," he almost whispered it.

He sat down on the couch, eyes wetter than he would ever admit. He resolved his mind again. The fox is going to move to protect his family. But, how would he leave Chicago quietly?


	2. Benevolence

Aiden did not sleep much that night. It's not like he ever slept too well. In the time spent awake he would go through being nearly catatonic to being as fast as the heartbeat of a hummingbird. Every night, he went through a process of trying to release all the pain of his actions. He called it his pseudo-catharsis. He always felt better for a little while after, and then he went outside and saw the world. He was surrounded by what had happened to him, by what he had done. Anytime he saw a little girl, he saw Lena. It didn't matter if the girl looked like her or was even the same race. He found that he couldn't go anywhere near the spot that it happened, either. Those weeks he had to spend in Pawnee were hell. That tunnel was always too long or too bright or too dark or too enclosed or too open, he felt like he couldn't escape it.

He sat up from his bed after his sleeplessness. It was seven thirty in the morning. He had already established that he was not going to go outside. He rose from his bed wearing nothing but a pair of briefs. He slipped on a pair of slippers. He looked in the mirror and realized that he had black and blue marks spotting his body. Aiden shut his eyes realizing that he hadn't been taking care of himself. He stepped away from the mirror, not putting on any more clothes. Well, the others were gone, so he could dress as he pleased. The descent to the main level was quick, as he wanted to get clean. He stepped into the shower, thoughts meandering, again. He was still left with the question of how he was to 'disappear'. Was he going to drop off the radar or just 'die'? That remained to be seen. Of course, he did not want to do that literally.

After a good scrubbing, he stepped out of the shower. He went to the bathroom mirror. Bad decision, he was reminded of those contusions. He brushed his teeth with his eyes closed. He put on his robe and walked back to his room and put on the only casual clothing he had. His stomach started to growl. He padded his way to the monitors. He had satellite television, but it's not like he ever had the chance to watch it. He turned on the television. The first channel had one of those paternity test shows. The second channel had on some children's show teaching toddlers how to count. The third channel had a small claims court show on. He turned the monitor off. This was getting on his nerves.

He wanted to be out of here. Well, he wanted to be got out of here, and live a 'normal' life. He had to start thinking. He couldn't call Jordi. That contract had long expired not to be renewed. T-Bone couldn't help him even if he wanted to. Clara was dead. Tobias was, well, wherever the hell he was. He knew that sulking wouldn't help. It never did. Pseudo-catharsis would do shit either. Suddenly, his monitor turned on. It was displaying static, as a message came across the screens. It came haltingly in large red letters displayed with a 'snowy' background.

AIDEN PEARCE

I C U

I WANT 2 HELP U

U CAN GET OUT OF HERE

GET TO UR SISTER

GET ON UR PHONE

Aiden was shocked. His chapped lips parted in astonishment. Who could have been listening to his phone call? And how? He took so many precautions. He bounced that signal through all fifty states and through about six or seven countries. It didn't make sense that any normal hacker could even discover him. He looked at the phone on the desk as it started to ring. He walked to it, a little wary. Hell, the thing might have blown up if this hacker was skilled enough. He picked up the phone.

"Who is this?" Aiden tried to play it cool, but he still wasn't as tough as they thought he was.

The voice that crackled over the telephone was sent through some sort of voice changer. It made the voice sound deeper than it would usually sound.

"It's a friend."

"What kind of friend?"

"One who can get you out of here." The voice was determined, unwavering.

"What's your name, voice."

"I am Benevolence."

"Well, Benevolence, you can't just be doing this for nothing. That's what your name says but you must want something.

"Yes, I… I-" The voice was shaking, even through the filter.

"Spit it out," said the fox sternly.

"Need you to take down DEDSEC for me." Benevolence spoke quickly, almost brusquely.  
"For _you_?"

"Well, for us. You see since CTOS went down last year, they've gone from watchdogs to terrorists. They exploit the simple. They cheat anyone who has the misfortune of crossing their path. Now they're killing innocents. They kidnap and shoot. They want ransom from the city. They blame you. They say you didn't allow them to plant the seed."

"You talk like you know everything about this. I know what seed they're talking about. And I bet you know what seed they're talking about, too. If we're going to do this we need to trust each other."

"Fine, I was a member, but when I saw the shift starting after the blackout I got out while I could. They, ironically, don't like dissenters."

After that conversation Aiden felt conflicted. DEDSEC had been changing after he locked them out of ctOS, but he figured they were smart enough to find their way back into the system. It was not that difficult they could go through any of the servers in the city, crack the code and everyone was in. That's how Aiden would take down DEDSEC. He would only have one problem. He would have to find those servers. Those servers would be hard to find he would need help. He took out his phone and redialed Benevolence.

"Well, if I'm going to take this down for us. I need your help," Aiden started. "Do you have an app that has these servers' location in it?"

"Well, I don't know that I have their exact locations, but you might be able to track their locations from the energy fields around them. I'm sending it to you now. All I know is that there are six of these servers in the city. Use the radar and take them down. Physical destruction of the server would be the best." CLICK

Aiden was less conflicted now, but now he had to go outside. That's what he wanted to avoid in the first place. He realized he was still holding the cell phone. He had one more phone call to make.

"Hello," his sister's voice was even with early morning grogginess.

"It's me."

"Oh, Aiden I didn't recognize the number. It's different than the last number."

"Yeah, well look, I'll be there to see you two soon. And I won't bring any heat with me either. Tell Jacks that I'll bring him something to make up for Christmas."

"Alright but, you better be reformed when you get down here."

"I will. I have to go. I have, uh, preparations to make before I get down there."

"Okay. I love you, Aiden."

"I love you, too."

Aiden after that phone call went into his pseudo-catharsis.


	3. Venturing Out

I'm sorry it took so long to update, but I had to plan the trajectory of the story.

* * *

"So how in the world am I supposed to do this?" Aiden asked, phone pressed against his face.

"Like I said, I sent you the tracking app. It'll go crazy anytime you're near one of those servers. The electrical output also messes with your phone's CTos connection.

"Alright, fine."

That was all the help Aiden was given with this task. Six locations. Unknown locations. This was not going to be fun.

He turned the app on. It was pinging loudly. A server was nearby. "Those assholes must have gone through Clara's personal computer," he thought. He looked around his bunker to find the source. He followed the pinger as he looked. The closer he got to her room, the more it sounded. It would have to be in her room. He hadn't been in there since before her death. He remembered. She had the flu and he stayed in the bunker to take care of her. The caring wasn't difficult. Watching her with cold sweats and writing under the blankets was hard. She had a fever of 102 degrees for a couple of days. Aiden hadn't realized at the time, but when her fever broke he had been awake and watching her for nearly forty-eight hours. He didn't sleep well that night, either. He was afraid that if she exerted herself to much that week she might… relapse into sickness. So he didn't go anywhere that week. That week all the new outlets were asking, "What has happened to the fox?"

He didn't want to stir up any memories, but he had to. He opened the door. The room still smelled like Clara. Good coffee and good perfume. He walked over to the computer. The monitor was black, but it was on. He moved the mouse to see that the computers OS was running code furiously. He found the first of his sources. He simply went behind her computer and unplugged it. His cell phone, which he now realized was still in his hand, stopped pinging and his ctOS connection came back. One down, five to go.

* * *

Aiden went out to find that it was just as miserable as he thought it would be. It was twenty below. All of the smokestacks were spewing steam that looked like clouds on the brilliantly clear blue sky. Even the horizon was clear of the usual gray tint. It was white as it should have been. He hopped into his SUV. The manual claimed that you could cold-start it. That wasn't an option today. Aiden kept his foot on the accelerator to warm the car. He needed to turn on the heat. His coat may have looked warm, and it was, but these temperatures were extreme for Mr. Pearce. The bridge that connected the old island to the city turned slower than it usually did. Who could blame it? It was so gelid that the river looked as if it was steaming. It wasn't steam. When Aiden had managed to cross the river, he saw that no one was outside, save news reporters and cops.

He drove around The Loop and found two of the servers there. The first one was easy enough to access. He went through the ctOS cameras and hacked into the server. The puzzle was solved in two minutes. He got control of the buildings sewage pipes and burst one of them right over the server. Needless to say, it stopped pinging. The other was four blocks away.

There were a few guards at the site. They were very conspicuous, standing still in the cold weather. They were armed with pistols and Aiden was trying to avoid any confrontation with them. He was armed too, but this cold weather mad his guns more prone to jamming. There wasn't a ctOS backdoor to through which he could enter.

"Shit, I have to do this the hard way," he cursed.

He didn't feel like close combat. He still has the bruise from the last fight. At least, it was not a graze wound. Those were the worst to the fox. Physically, they were painful. The mental part was worse. A graze meant that he was that close to being shot. Of course, he wore a vest every time, but the grazes on his arm always reminded him of his mortality. The gunshots whizzing past his ears did it too. The only thing is, there aren't any bullet-proof ski masks. He figured to avoid direct confrontation, he would snipe the position from across the street. How convenient it was that the target was across from a park! He wasn't worried about the fact that he had a high powered rifle with an illegal silencer out in public. There weren't any witnesses.

He set up behind a bench, out of sight of the enemies. The first was right out front, smoking a cigarette. Aiden put a bullet right between the man's eyes. That probably caught the attention of the second man who ran to his friend as he saw his dead body. Aiden was also merciful with the second man. He shot him right through the upper chest and slightly to the left. That man hadn't worn a vest that day. The third man was slightly smarter than the second. He, who appeared to be left handed, reached into his pocket and withdrew his phone. Aiden pulled the trigger and the phone instantly flew out of the fool's hand. The poor man shook his left hand. Aiden put a hole through it, perfectly in the middle of his palm. Ouch! The man, pleading for mercy, put his other straight out in front of him, right into the sights of the gun. Aiden shot again. Now there was another hole for the other hand. The man turned his body, his side coming into the crosshairs of the rifle. Another shot was heard.

The three men were dead, so Aiden walked crossed the street to disable the access. Aiden walked over the first two mean. He paused by the third man. One wound in each hand, a wound in the side. His feet were bleeding too. The gunshot to the side had ricocheted into his left leg. The bullet hit that ankle and exited. It went into the other ankle where it remained. There was a hole in each hand, a hole in each foot, and a wound in his side. "That's just too much," Aiden thought.

This puzzle for this server was also easy to solve. Aiden had physical access to the server this time. He hacked into it. He wanted to see who the leader of this group was. He used to respect it. This group used to warn citizens of the dangers of privacy invasion and computerized 'everything'. All they did was show issues that could arise if there was ever a glitch in Blume's computers. When Damien fucked up the city, Blume started to have a PR problem. DEDSEC claimed that they were on the side of the people. Now they were siphoning money from the people. He didn't do that. When he 'took money' out of the banks, he only tricked the banks into doubling the money that he would remove. He would only take half the money and put the other half back into the others' accounts. He wasn't actually bankrupting anyone. In fact, sometimes the other person got more money into their account for their 'help'.

He decided, also, that he would trace Benevolence's whereabouts. The leader of the DEDSEC was in the city someplace. That, he knew. The search showed that the leader was in The Loop. Benevolence was further away. Two hundred sixty to two hundred eighty miles away to be more precise. That wasn't Aiden's concern right now. He just wanted all of the servers to be down as quickly and cleanly as possible. He took three down today. That was an accomplishment.

* * *

He went back to the bunker. The sun was setting when he got into the elevator. Chicago looked weary. The town itself was basically shut down. The schools were closed as were the courts, city hall, post offices, and everything else. At least, it wasn't snowing. Aiden got inside and warmed himself up. The bunker was still lonely. His phone rang. He answered without checking on the identity of the person.

"Hello?"

"This is DEDSEC." The voice was being masked with a computer

"What do you want?" He asked, trying to command attention and respect.

"No, fox, what do you want? DEDSEC doesn't think that it's a good idea that you take that tone," the caller chuckled, almost maniacally.

"I want you to leave the people of Chicago alone." He was pointed and matter-of-fact.

"I bet you want this more," the voice was laughing and then wheezing. The monitors switched on and there was an image of an empty living room. It looked like it came from a computer web camera. It faced the window. The light blue drapes were drawn giving a view out of the window. The window showed a skyline and the street wasn't visible out of it. This room must have at least been on the second story. It was clean and neat, but lived-in. The lights were on, giving Aiden a nice look of the living room. The furniture was sapphire blue and the floor was wood. A lighter colored wood made up the floor, maybe ash. There was a cream colored rug on the floor that complemented the furniture and matched the wall's paint. There was a table right next to the sofa. It had various picture frames on it.

"I don't know what you're showing me," Aiden said with a level head.

"Oh, really." The camera zoomed in on the picture frames. It zoomed in on one particular frame. The zooming wasn't perfect. Aiden could tell that it was a picture of a person. A white person. The camera focused. It was a picture of a boy. Jackson! Aiden knew that that picture was never scanned into a computer. This wasn't phony. They were really looking into his sister's residence in St. Louis

"YOU BETTER NOT TOUCH A HAIR ON EITHER OR THEIR FUCKING HEADS OR SO HELP ME THEY WON'T EVEN FIND A CORPSE." Aiden yelled through the phone. When he got angry, he turned red. He had shouted, that was something he just didn't do.

"We haven't yet, and we won't if you don't fuck with us anymore. You killed three good men today. You have caused us thousands of dollars today. Your precious family wont be harmed, if you don't fuck with us again, prick." The monitor was still showing the picture frame as the camera zoomed out. The door to the dwelling was in full sight again as the knob begun to turn. DEDSEC's altered voice was heard once more," See your beloved sister and nephew are safe."

Aiden watched the door open. He first took note of the apartment number on the door 8G. Then he looked at the people entering the apartment. Or, rather the person entering the apartment. It was a woman wearing a ski-mask It was a white woman with blazing red hair. She unzipped her brown coat and the black shirt that she was wearing read in big white lettering 'Synonym 4 Altruism…' She turned around and on the back in big Arial font that was white 'that starts with B'. She grabbed went outside of the apartment and grabbed an easel that she apparently took along with her. The metal easel was set up in perfect view of the camera. It didn't have to refocus. The woman went out once more and grabbed a big piece of paper. The type on this was also large:

I HAVE THEM

"No, no," shouted the representative of DEDSEC. This wasn't part of the plan and what the hell did that shirt thing mean?

"I"LL FUCKING KILL YOU ALL." Aiden was really angry. From the message, he figured out it was Benevolence. But, he didn't know who or where the fuck they were. He wanted his family safe. He disconnected from the telephone call. He was going to take out DEDSEC.


	4. Inconveniences

Nicole and Jackson were riding around in a strange car. This woman had greeted Nicole at her job a few hours ago. She was standing outside of her office building. The strange woman's hair was dyed red as the roots were starting to show. Her face was serious. Her voice was more serious.

"I don't know exactly how to convince you of anything," the strange woman started, "but you and your son have to come with me." The woman's face was in a grave grimace.

"Who are you?" Nicole was afraid she was being kidnapped… again.

"Let me just say that Aiden is counting on me to keep you safe."

"What is your name?" Nicky was about to run away.

The strange woman presented an ID. It was a genuine official Missouri card and the picture matched the face.

"Why would I trust you? I've been kidnapped before," Nicky silently shouted.

"I know you have. I've been watching your brother and you son and you. You're not safe. DEDSEC is trying to take you and I don't want that to happen."

Just then the door of a black van opened up. Nicky had assumed that the van belonged to the strange woman. Her boyfriend stepped out of the van. Maybe, she did need to go the redhead. Her boyfriend approached her,

"We have to go. I'll explain it all on the way."

* * *

Aiden found the fourth server in Mad Mile. It was not too far from the Merlaut. It was in the Navy Pier building He got access to this from through the ctOS cameras in the area. They were actually going through a ctOS server in the station itself. It was too easy to get through to the station and disable the server. Unfortunately the ctOS station for Mad Mile had a bad flood. The banks in the area would have to close. It was going to look like DEDSEC did it, or maybe the cold weather was to blame.

Aiden got back into his car and turned the radio on:

"WKZ NEWS. We have a news flash that's apparently official. The stock for Blume took a massive hit today. The value of the stock was decreased by more than half as investors ditched. The cause of the sell off has been attributed to the attacks on the system in recent hours. The social security numbers of several thousand people have been released. This also comes on the back of ctOS failure in November. This is further compacted by the recent announcement that ctOS will be discontinued for expansion into other cities. We spoke to one investor who sold all of his stocks. "This deal is not as golden as it looked back in '03 and '04." The stock started at about $150.89 and this afternoon is at $66.60. We will continue to follow this. I'm John Lawrence WKZ

"Good afternoon, I'm Kimberly Hatfield with WKZ. We have breaking news in Mad Mile. An apparent computer glitch has causes the ctOS station covering the district. DEDSEC immediately claimed credit for the attack. But many citizens are just as angry with DEDSEC as they are with Blume. It also seems that the vigilante is trying to eliminate DEDSEC as it is thought that he took out three of it's operatives yesterday. Public and police support to the vigilante has no end. Eighty-eight percent of citizens and 65% of police officers said that they approve of the fox. Some citizens even went as far to say that they would harbor him. The chief of police still refers to him as a 'menace who's teaching our kids to take revenge into their own hands'. This is WKZ.

* * *

This news was also breaking in St. Louis. It was on the radio in the bunker that the strange redhead had provided. It seemed that the woman and her boyfriend were somehow affiliated. That was not explained. What was explained was the whole DEDSEC situation. Nicole was thankful that it was all explained before Jackson was picked up. She came in during the middle of math. She went to the front desk and signed him out. She decided to walk to Mrs. Burnett's class and collect him herself. She stood by the door and looked through the pane glass. From her vantage she couldn't see her son. Conversely, he couldn't see her. The teacher, a stern looking black woman with graying hair in a neat ponytail in her early sixties, was at the board with one of those old-fashion wooden pointers. It was clean except for some fractions on the board. One of the students in the class raised her and said something that made the teacher turn towards the door. The older woman smiled as she walked to the door. She turned around once and put her index finger up to her lips. She took two more steps and opened the door, stepped out into the corridor, and shut the door behind her.

"Good afternoon, Mrs. Burnett. I hate to interrupt but Jackson and I have to go, urgent business" she was rushing as she spoke.

"Ms. Pearce, are you alright. You look pale. You're shaking," she said, grabbing Nicky's forearms.

"I'm fine. It's just that I got this news on very short notice."

"I'm sorry. I hope your family is well. I'll grab the packet they were going to get for next week."

Mrs. Burnett walked back into the classroom and approached her desk. Mid-stride she grabbed the key to the locked desk from the lanyard around her neck.

"Mr. Pearce, your mother's here go and grab your things from your cupboard, please."

He got up immediately to grab his coat and his book bag. He grabbed the math notebook on his desk. He was about to ask what you did to solve example #3. That was of little consequence now. The two of them left. Jackson was carrying his book bag and Nicky was clutching, with white knuckles clutching his homework and her pocketbook. This is going to be really hard to explain.


	5. What's more cunning than a cat?

The fifth server was a bit of a challenge for Aiden. Just a bit. It was located at the base of the Willis Tower (I still call it the Sears Tower) and Aiden had to walk into the building itself. The degree of possible exposure in the building was high. It only took one person to recognize him and he could be in jail. Sure, he'd escaped before, but he had his cell phone and Jordi's help. He went in low-key. He wore his hat in the building and hacked the server. There was an inauspicious rumble as the power in the building went out and was plunged into darkness. It was 11 AM so the sunlight provided enough light for the building. Aiden, however made sure that there was electricity going to the elevators. He didn't need any people to blame the fox for a claustrophobe having a panic attack.

He walked out of the skyscraper and drove off. His phone began to ring.

"Hello"

"I told you to stop fucking with DEDSEC," said the anonymous voice that called before.

"And I told you not to fuck with my family." Aiden's knuckles were white as his grip tightened on the steering wheel, and on his phone.

"That wasn't us who kidnapped th-" Aiden hung up, to feign anger. He was still going to kill all of those motherfuckers but he had to wait. Until he took all of the servers out he had to play cat and mouse with DEDSEC. Foxes were more cunning than cats.

* * *

"This is WKZ. I'm John Lawrence. More bad news for Blume today, as the stock is still losing value at a nearly exponential pace. It is only valued now at $39.08. As reported earlier, the expansion of CTos into other municipalities has also been scrapped in attempt to save the struggling corporation some money. Several economists have said that the collapse of a company like Blume may actually benefit the economy, Glenn Farmer is one. 'Mega-corporations like Blume stymie the development of those startups that we all love. Instead of developing their own apps, these young new experimenters have been hired by companies like Blume' In related news, DEDSEC has recanted their claims of causing the failure of CTos in recent days. DEDSEC approval has fallen to 10% as the people have been leaving the group in droves. The Vigilante has been credited with taking down both groups. Kimberly Hatfield has the rest of the news.

"I'm Kimberly Hatfield and here is some more news from WKZ affiliates. A mother and son have been reported missing in St. Louis, Missouri. Nicole, the mother of ten year old Jackson Pearce have been missing for three days now. Their last whereabouts were at Jackson's school. Edna Burnett, Jackson's fifth grade teacher, reported that Nicole Pearce came to collect her son in quote 'hysterics'. They may be in distress and may be being held against their will. It is unknown if there is any relation between these two people and Aiden Pearce as their last names are of the same spelling. The Vigilante has shown no apparent interest in this case but some still speculate, 'I don't know about this. Blume and DEDSEC going down at the same time as the people go missing. That sounds a little fishy to me.' Photos and descriptions of both of these people can be found on our website. "

* * *

The sixth server would have been the hardest of all. It was in _Pawnee_. That wasn't the bad part. It was in _Blume Headquarters_. Aiden had to hand it to DEDSEC, they really knew how to make things difficult. This time he would have to gain physical access to the site. He drove up to the heavily fortified building. He was expecting to see as many armed guards as he saw last time. There were only three there. The whole site only had three guards. It was a shock, but he guessed Blume's total failure(s) in the last few weeks was proof enough that they didn't have the money to uphold their militia. Aiden decided that he would take them out from a distance, but it would not be the artistic display they got last time. He took out his rifle and dispatched the three guards in a minute.

"That's a new record," he said.

He made the walk from the parking lot to the gate, taking note of the salt blanched asphalt. The city wasn't expecting any of the white stuff; at least he hadn't heard anything about it in the news. He figured that they had brined the surface before when they were expecting a few inches some weeks ago. It was an Alberta clipper that fizzled out over Chicago, but intensified over New York dropping eight inches. Well, it's not like Blume will exist for much longer.

He walked through the gate and into the silent compound. He took small steps on concrete to remain stealthy. Though, he doubted they had any more security, he still wanted to proceed with caution. His assumption was right; there was no one around to stop him. He plugged his phone into the server and revealed all of the information of DEDSEC. IP addresses, locations of computers/mobile devices, screen names, real names, bank numbers, social security numbers, all of that was available. But, Aiden was looking for one, particular asshole, the Roach. He was the one who okayed all of the robbing innocent people. His phone pinged and vibrated as he found the Roach.

"Found the asshole, and…," Aiden said as he scrutinized the map. It had zoomed in to a place he didn't recognize. He pinched his thumb and index finger together to get the map to show more earth. The Roach's location infuriated Aiden. Infuriated him, indeed.

"…he's in… St… fucking… Louis." Aiden spat the words. He was going to kill this man for being too close to his family. He exhaled and calmed himself as he came to that conclusion. He was always more efficient when he killed with a level head.

Aiden looked at the information at his phone.

"Looks like I have the final nail in Blume's coffin," he chuckled as he leaked the information to WKZ. He was back at the original problem. He was going to have to disappear from Chicago, somehow.


	6. The Governor

"This is WKZ, and I'm John Lawrence. We have some exclusive breaking news concerning CTos and Blume. In an apparent leak from, the Vigilante, information has shown that CTos has been spying on average citizens. The system would make biomorphic and biometric profiles for every citizen. It tracked our every move and invaded our privacy. The system had purported to ask all citizens for access to our information. Even those who opted out were spied on. The police chief issued a statement that said in part, 'citizens of our city ought to be able to trust the police. Though, we have used this as a crime fighting tool, we were not aware that the company was invading everyone's privacy.' We will bring you more as we continue to sort through this information"

* * *

"This is WKZ, and I'm John Lawrence. We have some more news about CTos. Your social security number, banking number, medical records and even your personal pictures had been made more easily accessible to hackers by the CTos. The information WKZ also shows that hacker group DEDSEC had been robbing people in Parker Square and in the Loop. DEDSEC has been silent for many hours now." There was the distinct sound rustling paper and the murmur of a news producer heard in the background of the radio broadcast. It sounded like John Lawrence scooted back up to the microphone.

"My apologies, but… I've just received a bulletin from City Hall. CTos operations have been suspended indefinitely. The suspension is effective in twenty minutes, as the entire computer system in the municipal government is signed off. There is a going to be a brief power outage at 14:15. That's 2:15. So, in, ten fif-… uh, seventeen minutes a brief power outage will take place to take the electrical grid off of the CTos. Trading on the Chicago stock market has ended for the day and will resume tomorrow. On the NYSE, Blume's stock has been suspended.

* * *

It wasn't often that Aiden watched the evening news, or television for that matter. But, this was not an ordinary day. Aiden was seated in his chair, still fully clothed, with a still-steaming bag of Chinese food on the floor beside him. The cashier of the restaurant had recognized him instantly. "Don't worry about the money," the kid, a boy of about seventeen, who had obviously, by his accent, or lack thereof, been born in America, said to him with a smile. Just as Aiden was walking out of the door to the China Dragon, "Thank you," he heard from a female, who had a Mandarin accent say. The fox turned and saw a woman, in a apron of about fifty-five in front of the teen. The teen had his hands rested on her shoulders. Aiden only nodded as he departed. Aiden was awoken from his reverie by the voice of a woman on the monitors before him. He reached down to grab the food with his eyes glued to the screen.

"Good Evening, I'm Wendy McDougal and here's the news at ten. Blume is no more. The company that pioneered CTos is no longer in operation. Blume's investors all lost a substantial amount of money today as the federal government shut down its operations and arrested Charlotte Gardner, the vice president of Public Relations, and Dale Witt the CEO. They are both charged with espionage and aiding and abetting the enemy. According to a federal investigation that started in 2011, social security numbers of dead Chicagoans were being sold on a black market. Also confidential information from the Pentagon was being sold to Russia, Iran, and North Korea. The Attorney General says that more arrests and charges are to come based on the information gathered and released by Aiden Pearce earlier. The President has also weighed in."

The image cut from the studio to one of the President in the oval office. There the leader of the free world said in his usual, cool style, "When we see businesses exploit Americans, those who are the proprietors will face justice. It's imperative that we show the world that we don't stand for injustice in this nation or in any other."

The screen went back to the anchor, "The President also said that these are quote thing we can't allow as a free people unquote. WKZ has just gotten word that the governor will be speaking in two minutes. We will be showing that live. Before he begins we will have a short commercial break.

* * *

The governor, a stout, stern man wearing a gray suit with a black shirt and silver tie walked to the podium with papers in hand. He looked squarely into the lens of the camera, nodded; both for self assurance and that he would show he was ready to be broadcast to the cameraman. He, the cameraman, off screen, nodded back and started to zoom in on the top half of the podium making sure that that Great Seal of the State of Illinois was maintained in shot, in focus. Aiden sat attentive as he scooped up some of the yellow rice with the spoon provided.

"Good evening my fellow Illinoisans, I would like to speak briefly about the events of this sad day. Today, we have discovered the bleakness of dishonesty. We have been shown what happens when we allow convenience and security to override our personal liberties. CTos took over what we held dear, and made us, you, the taxpayer take the brunt of the cost. For several months, the state police had been investigating in tandem with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Our combined investigation had yielded inconclusive results. We could not proceed with criminal of civil charges against Blume, or any of its employees. Today, that changed. Several thousands of pages of documents were leaked to Chicago station WKZ.

"WKZ, immediately, via email and physical delivery of printed pages, made sure that the team down here in Springfield received the evidence that gave us enough to arrest Ms. Gardner, Mr. Witt, along with several high-ranking employees. When WKZ was pressed as to whom gave the information, the station manager said it was Aiden Pearce. Although he is unknown to many in this state, and in the country, he is well known and highly regarded in Chicago.

"This evening, I have come to announce that I am canceling all of the warrants for arrest against Aiden Pearce in this state," Aiden's jaw hit the concrete ground of the cellar. He was not surprised to hear his name said earlier. All his warrant_s_ were cleared if only, Nicky could see this.

"I am granting him immunity, also from, any prosecution he may face in this state for prior crimes. This does not mean, Mr. Pearce, that you will be pardoned for any future crimes. Make no mistake, Mr. Pearce you are _not_ above the law. In closing, I would like to read from Psalm 30 verse 5. 'Weeping may endure for the night, but joy cometh in the morning.' Although, the thought that many people have been shown that their trust has been violated, joy comes when we know our liberties have been restored."

The governor walked off as the cameraman zoomed out again. Aiden went up the stairs, "I have some things to pack."


	7. The Arrival

His sister's house was empty. The blue walls and light floors showed no signs of habitation. It'd been days since that message was left for him. And it was still there. The police hadn't investigated the house, because Aiden messed with their computer system giving them the wrong address. He was glad no neighbors had spotted him entering the apartment. They had been suspicious and concerned about Nicky, but they knew nothing so they said nothing. Aiden searched the whole place. Nicky's room looked to be intact. The closet was a little emptier than he would have expected. The same was evident in Jackson's room. He went to the kitchen. He opened the refrigerator. No milk, no eggs, no yogurt, juice, mayonnaise. They removed all the things that would have started to stink after a couple of days. He closed the metal door of the appliance and looked on the coffee table, no fruit to rot. This Benevolence person was clever. He or she was thorough.

This Benevolence person had his sister and son. Wait, son, nephew. Jacks might have well have been son. He loved him like he was, and his asshole of a dad was in the picture and just hopped out like his life was a TV show. Now he had to find the Roach. He knew the leader of what used to be DEDSEC was in this city. He exited the apartment and called Benevolence.

"I'm here in St. Louis." He started with that simple statement.

"I know," said the filtered voice.

"Where are Nicky and Jackson?" He was calm as he inquired.

"We have them." Almost as soon as the person finished saying that their hand went over their mouth.

"Who's 'we'?" He asked starting to clutch the phone in his hand.

"I meant me, I," said the voice, sounding pitchy even through the voice filter. "Did you crush the Roach yet?"

"No, but the deal was take down DEDSEC," He was on the verge of screaming.

"But things changed, that vermin is a threat to your family, and to me," Benevolence was trying to rationalize the situation.

"Fine, I'll take out this last threat and we're done." He always had to do extra in his life. That's what he was dealt.

* * *

The fox decided to stay in a hotel room. It wasn't dissimilar from the one he had before. It was on the second floor of a hotel whose rooms faced outward to a terrace. Aiden could tell that the manager was glad to have a guest, especially a guest who paid in cash for a month long stay. Aiden sweetened the deal even more, insisting that his room be untouched by whatever housekeeping staff the establishment employed. The manager, an older, short black man with gray hair and an all-around pleasant disposition was grinning ear to ear. The housekeeper, Beulah, a tall white woman with blond-turning-white hair, blue eyes and a friendly smile, hugged the fox with affection and kissed him on the bearded cheek. He blushed.

The polar vortex and its extreme cold scared off any tourists who wanted to visit. People, after this extreme weather started last year, had become acutely aware that the whole Midwest could and would, if provoked by the weather gods on high, would freeze. Aiden was only one of six guests in the hotel. His room was away from all of the others. The Glass Hotel was its name. It wasn't a particularly special piece of architecture. It had a television, microwave, mini-fridge, shower, sink, a king sized bed, and good drapes. The drapes covered the view of the street. It was a secondary, more like tertiary road that only saw a plow a few hours after the snow would stop. Well, he could only see the road through the gaps in the tree's bare, brown branches. It was a moderately sized specimen, which no doubt created headaches for Samuel, the manager, and Beulah in the autumn, with all of its orange leaves and other droppings off. Aiden could also see the house across the street. It was like one of those houses in Scandinavia, one of those dwellings with the sharply pointed roof. It was helpful he supposed, as there was no snow on top of the roof.

He had brought his laptop down from Chicago. It was, on second to his more portable phone, the best tool. With no CTos in this city, or in any city anymore, Aiden was going to have to track this Roach the hard way. Well, he was Aiden Pearce, so not the hard way, but the less easy way. He turned it on and started his tracking program. It pinged immediately. This asshole is trying to get him to go to that spot. The roach was trying to dare the fox. He would. He would go to the location, looked like a warehouse. Aiden was going to be well armed. He knew that there were some gun stores nearby. He was about to take the Roach out of his misery.

* * *

Whether or not the State of Missouri monitored the amount of guns Aiden purchased, was of little consequence now. Aiden had enough guns and ammo to defend the frontier. He was going in prepared. He was getting his revenge on this man. All of the people in Chicago he stole from. All the hospitals he stole from. All of the children's social security numbers he stole and sold.

* * *

Aiden parked his newly 'acquired' car outside of the warehouse. It had some huge red Chinese writing on top with smaller also red, but faded, lettering in English. It read 'Fu King Yoo Distributors'. Any other time Aiden would have taken the time to chuckle at the silly sign. Right now he had a mission. He was going to kill this prick. He walked into the place, after having kicked down the door. No light, of course. He turned on the flashlight in his gun as he walked down the hallway. It was a bleak place. The walls looked like they were white when they were painted, but the years of neglect and exposure had turned them into filthy proofs of abandonment. Those walls were probably painted when lead paint was 'in'. Roaches and water bugs climbed the walls, and the scurrying footfalls of rodents reverberated in the hollow corridor. The hallway turned right, so did he that was walking down it. Stairs appeared, and Aiden descended them. He turned quickly when he thought he heard a suspicious sound, a creak. In a millisecond, he trained his light on the source of the sound. It was a rat, with what looked like a piece of wire, **_blue wire_**, in his mouth. It ran away.

He continued down the stairs. They ended after two more landings. The hallway now looked clean. No rat droppings, pristine floor. There was a mechanical hum coming from the door that just entered his vision as he turned left. The metal double doors, not being flush to the floor, let some of the bright artificial light escape from under.

* * *

Aiden took a deep, silent breath. He prepared himself and kicked the leftmost door down.

* * *

This story is about to wrap up.


	8. Sparks

The metal of the old door, painted black, but probably rusted underneath, gave way at the hinges and the knob with just one swift and admittedly not spectacularly forceful kick. A large, foreign space revealed itself. It was about the size of the bunker he left behind in Chicago. The room that Aiden stepped into was clean, very clean. Its floor was concrete. The walls were lined with dark wooden, cherry, bookshelves that looked like they were polished regularly. The air in the room was warm and had that dry computer smell from the presence of the server located to the left of Aiden. Aiden, had he the time, would have stopped to enjoy it. His inner dork reveled in the odor that computers created. He looked straight ahead and saw the distinct glaring of one of those old, boxy computer screens, in the otherwise darkened room. There was someone, a rather rotund someone, sitting at the desk, in a dark chocolate shade leather swivel chair, turned around looking into the screen. Aiden was about to shoot when, he supposed, the man at the computer desk opened his mouth and spoke, with a strange childlike, impish lilt.

"Not so fast Mr. Pearce," the person behind the desk sang as he turned around in his swivel chair. It was a short, fat, white man, about forty. He had short thinning reddish blond hair. Around his neck, was a frayed red lanyard with ugly yellow writing, made most probably from cotton, that held, not glasses, not keys, but an inhaler. He stood up. It wasn't straight at first, but it became a more erect stance with the use of his cane. It, the cane, that had a brass finish, that is, was one of those special models that were able to stand on its own. In the other hand he looked like he was holding a remote. It was not wireless and was connected to the computer by a thin _**blue wire**_. Aiden couldn't tell if it was frayed or damaged. The fat man was wearing a dark, striking red wool knit sweater. The pants were of high quality and were the same gray as the clouds in a snowstorm. The two items clashed, but the man was about to die so it did not matter. The shoes, boot, looked worn and comfortable.

Aiden had taken not of all the freckles and wrinkles on the man's face. He'd regarded each stitch in the sweater, each scuff on the black, leather boots. The short, fat man continued to speak as Aiden approached him slowly.

"So this is the fox. You're more pathetic than your name," he taunted as Aiden was still coming nearer. Aiden raised his gun ready to fire. When this action was taken, the man raised his arm from off of his cane pulled out a gun and pointed it to his left. Simultaneously, he pushed one of the dozens of buttons on the remote. The shelves, that very instant, on Aiden's right, moved with the wall behind them to reveal a pane of glass. Behind the clear, sterile appearing glass were Nicky and Jackson standing looking scared.

"Aiden," started, the asthmatic antagonist, "You don't wanna shoot do you? You don't want your little nephew to see any more violence do you? And don't try anything clever that cell their in has steel walls and rubber floors."

Aiden relented some what, and, looking into Jackson's eyes, seeing the fear, knew he was going to have to defeat this man in a non-lethal way. That man was going to speak at length.

"I am the Roach," said he airily. "Do you know why they call me that?" He looked at Jackson, who had, by then, sat down, pretzel style. He looked at Aiden. Aiden nodded no. "Well, let me tell you. They call me the Roach because I'm a survivor. All my life I've dealt with this asthma and this bad leg, but that didn't bring me down. All my life, I've had to struggle. When I was that kid's age, no one wanted to be my friend. _NO one. _The only friend I had was imaginary. My father wasn't there. He didn't give a shit. My mom only pitied me. I was just the kid with the cane to everybody. One day, they installed a computer in my school. It was just like me in a way. No one took the time to care for it, but I did. I got to know it like no one got to know me. I knew every program, every code. In a way I survived a nuclear explosion. I survived when every fucking person in the world had something better to do than to care about me. I used the internet to find others like me. There were others like me, and I was glad. No one in the world was like me. That's what I thought. But I found someone like me. And we talked and talked and we made our group DEDSEC. We started it back in '99 when the internet was easy to crack. We took on corrupt systems, exposed the RLL banking scam. Then came the motherfuckers at Blume in '08, complicating matters with that CTos. We knew from the start, that they were going to be watching all our shit. So we hunkered. We started sending out messages letting people know what was going on."

"And it worked," Aiden started, "That's how I found out about Blume and its activities. You did good for all of us and then the power went to your head, and you lost it."

"Oh, it was not I who lost it, but you. You killed many good men who only wanted liberty." The Roach said sneering, "And now you have the government backing you up, you hypocritical piece of shit."

The Roach pushed another button on his remote control. All of the lights in the room turned on. The adjustment to the light was easy, as the lights came on as if on a dimmer switch. The lighting was dramatic as for a split second at the right level of illumination Aiden could see the airborne dust that floated in all room. The lights came to full luminance all of the names on all of the books that were on the shelves were legible and clear. Something else became clear in the brightening of the chamber. In the front of the room there were two more people laid out face down on the cool concrete. One was a woman who had dyed her hair. It was a shade of red that shimmered in its own falsehood. She was dressed all in red. The other person was a man with short black hair. He couldn't make out what race either of these people. The backs of their necks were obscured, inconveniently, by their hair. Their hands, their whole arms were tucked, intentionally, under their torsos.

"They're not dead," Roach started, "yet."

This was met by silence as Aiden looked back over to his family. His sister was standing, petrified, looking at the two people unconscious on the ground. Jackson was still sitting on the floor, fiddling with something. Aiden would have taken the opportunity to shoot now while they were both distracted but he didn't need Jackson looking up at the precise moment he fired.

Jackson however was in a world of his own behind the plate glass. His attention was not on the fat man, his uncle, his uncle's gun, the fat man's gun, the lady with the red hair, the man with the black hair, or his stiff with fear mother. His focus right now were two wires that ran from left to right in the front of the cell he was in. The wires were both thin. One could garrote someone with these cords. They were both damaged. It looked like the wires had been nibbled at. The copper of the wires was not eaten through, but it was exposed on both wires. One was red the other was _**blue**_.

Aiden was still listening to the Roach talk about righteousness, "… that Missouri fought for the Confederacy…"

Aiden wanted this guy to die to shut up now. He realized that he might have to tackle him like a linebacker. He readied himself to take this guy off guard. He would not dare to shoot a child would he? It was time to take the risk. He lowered his shoulders slightly and was about to charge.

Jackson figured that nothing bad could come from him touching the wires. He had just learned in science that rubber insulated electricity. There was no way he could get shocked, even if those were electrical wires. He touched the copper, and Ms. Burnett was correct. He was fine. He looked up and saw the man tying to see if the blob of fat was looking back. The blob wasn't. He noticed something about his uncle though. His uncle's shoulders were leaning forward. He, Jackson, didn't know why but he continued with his plan anyway. He grabbed the red wire by the rubber coating and connected the two coppers together. For half a second nothing happened and Jackson watched as he uncle started to charge the man.

* * *

Immediately, the lights went out and rumbling and electrical buzzing were heard. The smell of burning rubber and electrics wafted through the air. The fixtures above were over loaded and all of the light bulbs disintegrated. Now, brilliant white sparks rained down from the light fixtures and only fizzled out when they touched a surface. The room was now filled with noise.

The noise didn't muffle the sound of a bullet in the glass cell. The sound of a bullet whizzing past his ear will now remain with Jackson. That scared him, but it helped that the sparks blocked his view of everything. He held the wire together for a few more second, as his mother still stood still looking off into space. Space now filled with radiant white light. Jackson after a minute of the display of light detached the two wires. The sparks stopped immediately and Aiden was in the midst. He was walking towards the shattered glass of the pane that once imprisoned Jackson and Nicky, the sound of glass from the broken light bulbs being crunched under Aiden's boots.

Aiden appeared through the fog that had formed after the sparks had fallen. He walked into the cell. Aiden cried out in a loud voice, "Jackson, come forth."

Jacks did as instructed and walk out stumbling a little grabbing his now more lucid mother by the arm saying, "Mom, we gotta go." She was still returning to reality when Jackson had to grab her as she almost tripped over some of the glass. He led her past the glass that was on the now warmed concrete. He only glanced at the body of the fat man. It had an extra hole in it now, in the center of his forehead.

"Uncle Aiden, what are we going to do with Benevolence and mom's friend?"

"I'm going to carry them on my back. Don't worry there's no one left to hurt us."

Jackson and Aiden looked down towards the bodies as the smoke cleared. They heard coughing from the woman. Aiden ran to her. He flipped her over. He looked first at he hands that were bound with plastic manacles. He used his pocket knife to snip off the handcuffs. She tried, futilely, to look away from her savior, but he caught a secret glance at her face He took her by and hand and looked her in the face.

"Clara, did you really think you could fool me?"

"What, how did you know it was me?" She asked stunned

"You may be better at disappearing than dying, but foxes know how to track."

"Aiden, I…" She started, and trailed off.

"We'll talk later." He said trying to help her to her feet.

The other body started coughing and Aiden scrambled to it. It was the coughing of a man who'd been through a lot. It was a familiar cough.

Aiden spoke, "Jordi, stop all of that noise."

"Shit, Aiden wh…" his mouth dropped open. "What are you doing here?

"I'm saving all your asses, is what I'm doing

"Listen, about your sis.."

"We can talk about this later let's all get out of here.

* * *

For the first time in a long time Jordi was scared. He wasn't scared in Chicago or when this Roach man kidnapped him down here in St. Louis, but talking to Aiden about dating his sister. Shit. That was not going to be fun.


	9. Pizza and Spelling Words

"Now tell me Jordi, how did you meet my sister? The truth," Aiden said looking Jordi in the eye. It had been a week since the Roach got crushed and Aiden had to put some of the pieces of this puzzle together. Now, he and Jordi were sitting in a seedy bar just outside of the city. The barkeep gave them a strange look as they walked in. It must have been the red shirt Jordi had on under his suit jacket. They, Aiden and Jordi, ignored it. Jordi was used to it. Aiden just didn't care. He'd seen tougher before.

"Fine, the truth," Jordi said as he was sweating bullets into his martini, "You really are a drag on Friday night. When Lucky Quinn was taken care of and I told you about the contracts on your head, I knew that they'd be out for me too. So I figured I'd made enough in my life, from my savings to your pay, I'd be fine. So I sent out the word saying I was out of the game. I traveled around. I saw all the things I wanted to see, the Grand Canyon, Old Faithful, the Brooklyn Bridge, the Golden Gate. After all of that I figured I would settle in my hometown, St. Louis, see the arch. I did just that I bought a place downtown, paid the guy in cash, no taxes for him. I just pay the property taxes every month."

Aiden shot him annoyed look.

"Okay, okay, one day I was in the supermarket, which for some reason was prematurely air-conditioned in December for crying out loud. So I was at the register when I notice this girl staring at me-"

"She told me you were staring at her," Aiden said with a smirk.

"It doesn't matter who was staring," he said flustered. Jordi continued with his story, "Anyway, I walked to her cool and said, 'You look like the kind of girl I want to get to know.' Then, she gave me her number."

"That's funny Jordi, because she said that you said, and I quote," Aiden reached into his trench coat and retrieved a many-times-folded piece of paper. He read it. "You're cute. Do you want to go out with me because I like how you look. Unquote."

"Well, if you already talked to her why are you here interrogating me?"

"What can I say? I like to see you squirm," Aiden replied truthfully, grinning. His smirk turned into turned into an almost-grimace as he formulated his next few words.

"Well it ain't cool. What kind of dude wants to see another dude squirm?" Jordi was on the verge of hysterics.

"Me." That was a matter of fact.

"Well, whatever. Anyway, she accepted and we went and got some Italian. Are you happy now?"

"Yes, I am," Aiden said grinning. The grinning turned into a sinister smirk, "Oh, and another thing. If you break my sister's heart, I'll have to kill you. And trust me they won't find any proof of your existence. Understood?"

"Understood," he almost passed out.

"Now let's get some more booze."

* * *

"Your uncle's coming over while I go out, okay," Nicole said wearing a sparkling blue evening gown, the next Tuesday night. She was holding on to her white clutch.

"Okay," he said as his back was turned, When he made the 180, he continued, "Wow, Mom, you look really, nice. Really fancy." He knew his mom was a pretty woman, several of the boys in the class, much to his displeasure, had said so, sometimes crudely, but he had never seen her that stunning. He turned back around toward the table, as he continued his thoughts. He didn't remember her ever dressing like that for a date. It's not like his father was around. She didn't date back in Chicago. She just worked and took care of him and his sister. The doorbell rang, snapping Jackson out of his thoughts. He lifted his eyes from the schoolwork on the table. He, in his regular blue hoodie and a pair of black jeans, however did not turn around as he heard the clickity-clack of high hells across a wood floor.

"It's probably your uncle," the now dolled up and made up Nicole answered the door. It was, as said, her brother.

"Woah, Nicky, is he taking you to Paris now?" He inquired jokingly.

"No, it's Tuesday night and it's none of your business where I'm going. Just know that I'll be back by two." She had a straight face. She always liked to see her brother fall victim to a prank. She watched as his face contorted into something fierce as he walked into the door.

"What?!" He was about to kill a certain Asian guy. It would be discreet too.

"I'm kidding, I'll be back by 10." She said this, walking out of the door. Aiden wasn't amused. NOT. AT. ALL.

Jackson was snickering at the exchange and his uncle's octave ascension at the table where he was sitting. He was sitting quietly as his uncle was approaching stealthily from behind, "I can hear you Uncle Aiden," He said, matter of fact. He inherited a thing or two from his uncle.

"Darn I thought that I had you," Aiden said as started to walk normally, taking a seat next to Jackson's at the table, "Have you eaten?"

"Nope."

"How 'bout we order a pizza?" He said waiting for Jackson's face to light up as would any child's at the prospect of pizza.

"Really," he said with excitement, "What are we going to put on it?"

"How about we order pepperoni and sausage? It's _my_ favorite."

"Me too," he was excited to have something in common with his uncle.

"Okay I go and order it right now."

Aiden ordered a pizza, and as per the usual guarantee he had a half an hour to kill before it arrived. "So are done with all of your homework Jacks."

"Yeah, but I've got a spelling test tomorrow and I can use some help. Could you quiz me?"

"Sure," he said grabbing the list of words. It reminded him of being in school. Some things didn't change. "Augment," he said wanting him to spell it.

"A-U-G-M-E-N-T"

"Correct. Bicameral."

"B-I-C-A-M-E-R-A-L, but what does that word mean?"

"It's from social studies. It means having two houses. You learned about the legislative branch in history. Well, Congress has two houses the Senate and the House of Representatives. Therefore, it is bicameral." Somehow he remembered that from school. Checks and balances, all that stuff. "Now, the next word is casualty."

"C-A-S-U-A-L-T-Y"

"You're better at spelling than I am. Esoteric"

"E-S-O-T-E-R-I-C"

Aiden was impressed by his nephew even when they got to the last word, "This one is hard alright, mortgage."

"Um… M-O-R- uh, T! G-A-G-E,"

"Yes, that's right. You're ready for that test tomorrow. High five," he said extending his hand. The moment their hands made contact, the doorbell rang.

"Pizza," the deliveryman shouted from outside.

* * *

Aiden got back to his apartment at 12:05 AM. The lights were out, but the television was on. It was on some terrible action flick. He stepped towards the comfy coach and found a familiar warm body sleeping on it. She was beautiful. She'd dyed her hair back to black but kept it in the same normal. The piercings came out long ago, making her cheeks look fuller, pleasantly. Her body was still lithe and toned after all this time faking a death and all. He always wondered how she kept fit sitting at a computer all day. Well whatever she did to keep her body toned, he appreciated it. Yes, he did, He looked at the clothes that covered that body. It was something unusual for her. Nothing she was wearing was black. A cream colored cashmere sweater and tight blue jeans were, indeed, a new sight for Aiden. No slippers of socks on. He came closer to woman resting on the black sofa. He whispered, murmured, "Who are you and what did you do with Clara?" He was smirking.

"Huh, oh, you're home," she said voice groggy. "How did it go with Jackson," her accent coming through.

"It was fine we practiced for a spelling test in the morning and got a pizza and watched some cartoons. It was a kid's dream." He this said, almost dreamily.

"It sound like that's your dream too."

"Maybe, one day." His eyes were still focused on some indistinct part of the popcorn ceiling.

"Yes, one day, you'll have children of your own to love."

"Mmhmm." He changed the subject, "Who would have ever pictured you in cashmere, white cashmere?"

"Don't sound so surprised," she exclaimed with vehemence, "Okay," she started calming down, "your sister came over today to basically, I guess, interrogate me," her accent strong on the word 'interrogate'.

"Wh-" He was flummoxed.

"She said she wanted to make sure I was treating you right. She's a good sister. Anyway when she walked into my closet and saw my wardrobe she dragged me to the mall."

"I'm sure that she didn-"

"Yes, she did, by the arm. I probably still have the mark. We went to Paulette's Boutique and I got some new clothes." She paused and grinned and spoke again, "And we might have used your credit card."

"Of course, you did. No matter where a woman's from, or what language she spoke first, she knows how to spend a man's money," He said faking annoyance. He had money to spare.

"I realized since you bought me this you might deserve a reward," That accent was now enticing. Aiden was attracted to it.

"I think I might deserve a reward," he spoke, his heart was pounding as he removed his coat, hat and gloves.

"No," she said, starting to rise from the couch, "I _know_ you deserve something for your trouble," Her voice was sultry.

"Well, what kind of reward I am going to get?"

"What kind of reward do you want?"

"Do your best." He liked this cat and mouse, or fox and rabbit.

"I'll do my worst to you," she said this as she aggressively closed to distance between her lips and his. The bussing was fervent, and it was accompanied by the sound of clothes being taken off sloppily.

In the afterglow, Aiden sat up in his bed awake. Clara was laying a little lower in the bed with an arm wrapped around his torso, asleep. She before falling asleep wondered how she would walk for the next few days, but that was a good kind of worry. Aiden, wide awake, was concerned with what was going to happen with their relationship. He fucked up a lot of stuff in the past. He sure as hell wasn't gonna fuck this up. He would let it go with the flow. He wasn't good at it but he'd try. He'd try his best to hold on to this. His love for this woman was special.

The moonlight came through the window and created new shapes in the shadow of the lattice. The light and shadows landed on them. In the crisp light of the moon, now full, he felt the love that he had left his heart when Lena died.

Something was transforming in him. There was a peace that enveloped him that was indescribable. His shoulders straightened, his breathing relaxed, and the perpetual knot that had formed in his gut was gone. He let out, all at once a sigh that told a story. A few tears followed they told the same tale, Agony, grief, guilt, greed, selfishness, disgust, loathing, lamenting, loneliness, envy. They were all gone. This was real catharsis. No 'pseudo I'll fell better' bullshit, but something palpable, tangible.

It was the Aiden he once knew.

* * *

Thank you everyone for reading this! I enjoyed writing it and I thank those who reviewed. Might be a sequel?

Thank you glenarvon for 'stalking' it lol

Merci Lufaaaaaa, I hope that you think this is a happy ending

Thank you CD for being excited for the next chapter. Believe you me I wrestled with it for a while

and Thanks Miko for laughing I did put a few jokes in.

P.S. If you got the reference about the prematurely air-conditioned supermarket we are now automatically friends, for life lol. If you didn't get it, look it up. You might like what you hear.


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